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S. Korea, Iran sign MOU for cooperation on environment

May 17, 2016

SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korea and Iran signed an agreement Tuesday to jointly tackle their environmental issues, further expanding their bilateral cooperation to social issues in the latest sign of their improving relations.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation on environment was signed here by South Korea’s Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu and his Iranian counterpart Masoumeh Ebtakar, who is double-hatted as vice president of Iran.

Under the signed agreement, the countries will exchange information on waste management and preservation of wetlands, as well as hold joint seminars that will further promote exchange of information and cooperation, according to South Korea’s environment ministry.

“I hope the signing of the MOU for cooperation will be our first step toward improving the countries’ environment and boosting their cooperation and exchange of information on their environment-related technologies and policies,” Yoon was quoted as saying.

The agreement will resume the countries’ joint efforts to tackle their national and global environment issues six years after their 2010 agreement expired.

The MOU also follows a series of business deals signed earlier in the month during South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the Middle Eastern country, said to be worth billions of dollars.

In a summit with Park, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also expressed hope to more than quadruple the countries’ bilateral trade from US$6.1 billion in 2015 to over $30 billion in five years.